Method of regulating the tobacco rod in cigarette-making machines



June 13, 1939. c. WQMULL ER METHOD OF REGULATING THE TOBACCO ROD I-N CIGARETTE-MAKING MACHINES Filed July so, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 6. Ma /Lav,

C. W. MULLER June 13, 1939.

METHOD OF REGULATING THE TOBACCO ROD IN CIGARETTE-MAKING MACHINES Filed July 30, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1710672757". gm MOM/er 2 M 9W Patented June 13, 1 939 PA ENT- OFFICE METHOD OF REGULATING THE TOBACCO ROD IN CIGARETTE-MAKING MACHINES Carl Wilhelm Miiller,

Germany, assignor to maschinen-Fabrik J Dresden-Weisser. Hirsch, Universelle Cigaretten- C. Miiller & C0,, Dresden,

Germany, a corporation of Germany Application July 30, In Germany 23 Claims.

Numerous proposals have already been made in the attempt to form the tobacco-rod of a cigarette-making machine uniformly in respect of the amount of tobacco supplied by it and the density thereof. In particular, it has been proposed toutilize the tobacco spreader for the purpose cf regulation, by causing it to deliver more or less tobacco into the rod itself corresponding to the measurements taken. It must be remembered that the distance from the tobacco spreader to the control or regulating point must always be a considerable one, and therefore in the time needed for the regulation the conditions may have completely changed, because experience has shown that the operation of the tobacco spreader is by no means constant but is continually fluctuating, more or less tobacco being delivered in a short or long space of time.

According to the present invention, the regulation is effected before the. tobacco arrives in the tobacco rod channel. Moreover, in this method of regulation the fact that the tobacco spreader is never capable of constant uniform operation, i. e. capable of delivering. uniform quantities of tobacco over a long period, is taken into consideration.

A tobacco-spreader or hopper is provided which is adjustable to deliver the quantity of tobacco necessary for forming the rod, preferably in such a manner that it reaches the limit of the quantity required when it reaches its maximum performance. This apparatus is provided with one or more tobacco hoppers or spreaders, which deliver the necessary additional tobacco, in exactly apportioned quantities. In order to accomplish this, between the first and second tobacco spreaders a control device is inserted which acts on the driving mechanism of the second tobacco spreader in such a manner that the additional supply of tobacco is regulated.

Two tobacco spreaders are preferably arranged in series, depositing the tobacco on a common conveyer belt. Between the first and the second spreader a feeler, regulating roller or the like is providedwhich rests on the tobacco layer on the conveyer belt which has been delivered by the first tobacco spreader. The variation of this feeler device is caused to regulate the tobacco spreader, nearest to the tobacco rod channel.

To enable the inventionto be fully understood it will now be described by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Fig. 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of an apparatus constructed according to one form of the invention, and

1932, Serial No. 626,797

August 4, 1931 Fig. 2 is a view of a detail drawn to a larger scale.

Fig. 3 is a view of a further detail.

Two tobacco hoppers or spreaders, A and B respectively, of known type are disposed serially, the suitably curved back wall a of the front hopper B forming also the front wall of the rear hopper A. Each hopper is provided with the usual feed mechanism, namely a feed drum 1) and a carded combing drum c. The drum 0 ineach case is associated with the usual-picker roller d while the tobacco layer which is formed on the feeding drum b is removed by a picker roller e.

A common conveyer belt h which passes over guide rollers f and g and which moves in the direction indicated by the arrow, Fig. 1, is provided for both hoppers, the two rollers e delivering the tobacco from the two hoppers on to the upper side of the belt.

Between the two hoppers a regulating or feeler roller 1' is provided which is mounted over the tobacco layer carried by the conveyer belt h. Acccrding'to the thickness and density of the layer the regulating roller 2 will automatically rise or fall. This regulating roller is carried on a lever i' which is mounted on a shaft 1' mounted in the machine frame. The shaft 1' carries on one end a pointerlk which co-operates with a scale I.' The scale I is mounted on the bearing i of the shaft 1'.

The thickness of the layer formed-on the belt h and issuing from the hopper A is thus indicated through the device i-i on the indicator. is, l, where it can be read. The middle position indicated by the vertical line on the scale shows that the layer has the normal formation and accordingly is' suitable for correct formation of the rod. A deflection to the right with reference to Fig. 3 indicates that the layer is too thick and that therefore it is necessary to regulate the hopper A, a very rare occurrence when the hopper A is regulated at the start so that its maximum performance is just sufficient to form the rod in the channel. On the other hand, a deflection of the pointer to the left shows that an additional supply of tobacco is required. The quantity depends on the magnitude of deflection of the indicator. Consequently, the speed of the feeding drums of the second hopper B must be suitably adjusted. This can be done by means of the hand wheel m. The hand wheel m is carried on a shaft m mounted in the machine frame, and by means of bevel pinions m and m cooperates with a shaft m mounted vertically in the machine frame. The shaft m is connected variations indicated by the control device are almost instantaneously compensated. It is possible to so arrange the mechanism that the short period required for the adjustment of the driving mechanism of the second hopper equals the period required by the tobacco to pass from the state indicated by the control to the compensated state. I

In the construction shown in the drawings a speed control mechanism V is used, of the type operating without slip and which is known in the trade under the name "Reeves drive.

The drive is provided .by a driving shaft W which is mounted in the machine frame and carries a belt disc W. The first tobacco hopper A is driven by this shaft through a pair of bevel pinions K, K". On the shaft n mounted vertically in the machine frame in bearings L and L a worm Sch is mounted which engages with a worm wheel R on the shaft W of the drum b. The shaft W' drives the drum through gearing R, R and the guide roller g for the conveyer belt h through gearing R, R. The shaft of the guide roller 9 carries a belt drive R which drives the guide roller 0, over which the usual tobacco feeding belt T of the first hopper A runs, the other end of the belt passing over a guide roller p.

The second hopper is driven by the driving shaft W and the pinions R and R", the shaft W on which the pinion R is mounted forming a driving shaft for the speed control mechanism. The speed control mechanism V includes a shaft W which drives the shaft q mounted vertically on the machine frame through the bevel pinions K K*. The shaft q is carried in bearings L and L The shaft q drives the shaft W of the drum b of the second hopper B through the worm Sch. The shaft W drives the second drum 0 through intermeshing pinions. M denotes a magnet of known type, which is intended to remove foreign bodies, such as nails or the like from the tobacco layer. The tobacco layer is fed in the usual manner by the roller T and a carded roller s from which the tobacco is removed by the picker roller 15 and is passed into the hopper u to which the U-shaped rod channel is connected.

The regulation can also be carried out entirely automatically.

With this object in view the shaft 1' carries a two-armed lever 2 having fingers 3, 4, pivotally mounted one at each end thereof. These fingers 3, 4 co-operate with guides 5, 6 in which longitudinally slidable fingers I, 8 are mounted. A slotted plate 9 is formed integrally with the finger 1, and a crank pin H) on a helical toothed wheel ll carried on the shaft [2 engages the slot' in the plate. The wheel II is driven from the driving shaft W by a helical wheel l3. Thus as the wheel His continuously rotated the plate 9 is reciprocated continuously. The plate 9 is connected by a rod H with the slidable finger 8, so that both the slidable fingers 1-, 8 are reciprocated together. Bevel pinions m, m are driven by a bevel pinion IS on the shaft l8. Pivotally mounted on the shaft l6 are two levers l1, l1, springs I8 being attached to the upper ends of the levers and to the guides 5, 8 which draw the levers against stops I8, l8 and thus tend to hold the levers in the central position shown in the drawings, Fig. 2. Two ratchet wheels i9, 20, havin oppositely cut teeth are mounted on the shaft t6. One ratchet wheel i9 is associated with a pawl 2|, and the other wheel 2|] with a pawl 22. The pawls 2|, 22 are pivotally mounted on the levers l1, l1 respectively at 23. The free ends 2|, 22' of the pawls project within range of the cam surfaces 24, 25 carried by the guides 5, 6. Light tension springs are attached to the pawls 2|, 22 and to the levers l1, H as shown. The levers. l1, l1 are provided with projections ll, H which project into the range of the fingers 3, 4.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows:-

If the layer delivered by the hopper A becomes somewhat thinner, or falls off, the roller 1' drops. This causes the lever 2 to drop and the finger 4 passes between the slidable finger 8 and the projection I! on lever ll. Thus on the corresponding movement of the finger 8 to the right the lever ll receives a corresponding swinging movement to the right and thereby the end 2| of the pawl 2| is displaced from the cam surface 24, so that the pawl 2|, by the tension of the spring 26, is brought into engagement with the corresponding ratchet wheel 20, and thereby the shaft I6 is turned. By the turning of this shaft, the shaft 112 is turned by bevel pinions l5, m and thereby the speed control mechanism is so adjusted that the tobacco hopper operates more rapidly in order to deposit a compensating amount of tobacco on to the conveyer belt h. If, on the other hand, the tobacco hopper A deposits a surplus of tobacco on the conveyer belt h, the roller 1' is accordingly moved upwards. so that the lever 2 is turned in such a manner that the finger 3 comes between the projection I! on the lever l1 and the sliding finger 1. The opposite pawl 22 is thereby brought into operation and acts through the bevel pinions I5, m on the speed control mechanism in such a manner that the feed rollers of the tobacco hopper B run correspondingly slower in order to compensate for the surplus tobacco delivered by the tobacco hopper A.

The speed control device V can obviously be automatically adjusted by the feeler roller 1 or by the interposition of a suitable electric control device.

Ordinarily a complete supply of tobacco may be fed from the hopper A and any deficiencies therein may be made up from the hopper B.

Having thus described the nature of the said invention and the best means I know of carrying the same into practical effect, I claim:-

1. A feeding apparatus for feeding a substantially predetermined constant supply of material comprising an endless conveyor, means for feeding material upon said conveyor, a second means for feeding additional material upon said first fed material and means controlled by the material fed by said first named means controlling the feed of said second feeding means.

2. A feeding apparatus for feeding a substan-- tially predetermined constant supply of material comprising a conveyor, a hopper located above said conveyor, means for feeding material from said hopper to said conveyor, a second hopper, means for feeding material from said second hopper upon said conveyor and means located between said hoppers automatically controlling the feed from one of said hoppers to supplement the feed from the other hopper in order to secure a substantially constant supply of material on said conveyor.

means 3. A feeding apparatus for feeding a substantially predetermined constant supply of material comprising anendless conveyona hopper located above said conveyor, means for feeding material from said hopper upon said conveyor, a second hopper located in series with said first hopper above said conveyor, means for feeding material from said second hopper upon the material fed by said first hopper to said conveyor and means located between said hoppers actuated by the material fed fromsaid first hopper upon said conveyor controlling the feed from said second hopper.

4. A feeding apparatus for feeding a substantially predetermined constant supply of material comprising a conveyor, means for feeding material upon said conveyor, and a second means for feeding material upon the material fed by said first means controlled by the amount of material fed by said first means.

5. A feeding apparatus for feeding a substan-.

tially predetermined constant supply of material comprising an endless conveyor, a hopper, means for feeding tobacco from said hopper to said conveyor, a second hopper, means for feeding tobacco from said second hopper to said conveyor upon the tobacco fed from said first hopper and means controlled by the amount of tobacco fed from said first hopper upon said conveyor governing the operation of the feeding means in said second hopper.

6. A feeding apparatus for cigarette rod forming mechanism comprising an endless conveyor, a hopper located above said endless conveyor, means associated with said hopper for feeding tobacco from said hopper upon said endless conveyor, a second hopper located above said conveyor, means for feeding tobacco from said second hopper upon the tobacco already fed from said first hopper, a control roller rolling upon the tobacco fed from said first hopper upon said conveyor, means for operating said feeding means in said second hopper and means controlled by said roller controlling the operation of said operating means for said feeding means in said second hopper.

'7. A feeding apparatus for feeding a substantially predetermined constant supply of tobacco for cigarette machines comprising a conveyor for conveying tobacco to the rod forming mechanism of the cigarette machine, a hopper located above said conveyor, means for feeding an ordinarily complete predetermined amount of tobacco from said hopper to said conveyor, a second hopper located above said conveyor, means for feeding tobacco from said second hopper to said conveyor and means for indicating when said predetermined amount of tobacco varies so thatthe secondary feed of. said tobacco to said conveyor may be instituted accordingly.

8. A feeding apparatus for feeding a substantially predetermined constant supply of tobacco for cigarette machines comprising a conveyor for feeding tobacco to the rod forming mechanism of the cigarette-machine, a hopper located above said conveyor, means for feeding an ordinarily complete predetermined amount of tobacco from said hopper to said conveyor, a second hopper located above said conveyor, means for feeding tobacco from said second hopper to said conveyor, means for indicating when said predetermined amount of tobacco varies and means controlling the feed of said tobacco from said second hopper to institute the feed from said second ing with the tobacco fed by said first feeding means for indicating variations in said supply and manual means controlling said second means for feeding tobacco for correcting said variations.

10. A feeding apparatus for feeding a substantially predetermined constant supply oftobacco for cigarette machines comprising an endless conveyor for feeding tobacco to the i'odv forming mechanism of a cigarette machine, means for feeding tobacco to said conveyor, a second means for feeding tobacco to said conveyor and automatic means responsive to the amount of tobacco fed by said first feeding means controlling said second feeding means. I

11. A feeding apparatus for cigarette machines comprising a conveyor for feeding tobacco to the rod forming mechanism of a cigarette machine, means for feeding tobacco to said conveyor, a second means for feeding tobacco to said conveyor, a control roller located between said feeding means riding upon the tobacco fed by said first feeding means and means cooperating with said roller controlling the feed of said se ond feeding means.

12. A feeding apparatus for cigarette machines comprising a conveyor for feeding tobacco to the rod forming mechanism of a cigarette machine, means for feeding tobacco to said conveyor, a second means for feeding tobacco to said conveyor, a control roller riding upon the tobacco fed from said first feeding means, indicating means operatively connected with said control roller for visually indicating variations in the supply of tobacco fed by said first feeding means, drive means for said second feeding means and vmeans controlled by said roller for varying the comprising a conveyor, means for feeding tobacco in predetermined amount to said conveyor, a second feeding means for feeding tobacco to said conveyor, a control roller located between said feeding means and riding upon the tobacco fed by said first feeding means, a lever carrying said roller, a pivoted rod connected to said lever, a

pointer mounted upon each end of said rod and means associated with said pointers for varying the feed of tobacco by said second feeding means.

15. A feeding apparatus comprising a conveyor for feeding tobacco to the rod forming mechanism of a cigarette machine, means for feeding tobacco to said conveyor, auxiliary means for feeding tobacco to said conveyor and meansfor setting in operation said auxiliary feeding means whenever deficiencies arise in the tobacco fed by said first feeding means.

16. A feeding apparatus for cigarette machines comprising a conveyor for feeding tobacco to the rod forming mechanism of a cigarette machine, means for feeding tobacco to said conveyor, auxiliary means for feeding tobacco to said conveyor, means for indicating whenever deficiencies occur in the tobacco fed by said first feeding means and. manual means for setting in operation said auxiliary feeding means to compensate for said deficiencies.

17. A feeding apparatus for cigarette machines comprising a conveyor for feeding tobacco to the rod forming mechanism of a cigarette machine,

-means for feeding an ordinarily complete supply of tobacco to said conveyor, auxiliary means for feeding tobacco to said conveyor, means for indicating whenever deficiencies occur in the tobacco fed by said first feeding means and-means for instituting the operation of said auxiliary feeding means to compensate for the deficiencies in the tobacco fed by said first feeding means.

18. A feeding apparatus for cigarette machines comprising a conveyor for feeding tobacco to the rod forming mechanism of a cigarette machine, means for feeding tobacco to said conveyor, auxiliary means for feeding tobacco to said conveyor, 9. control roller riding upon the tobacco fed by said first named feeding means to said conveyor, means for driving said auxiliary feeding means, means for varying the drive of said auxiliary feeding means and means connected with said roller controlling said means for varying the drive of said auxiliary feeding means.

19. A feeding apparatus for feeding a substantially predetermined constant supply of material comprising a conveyor, a hopper located above said conveyor, means for feeding material from said hopper to said conveyor, 9. second hopper, means for feeding material from said second hopper upon said conveyor and means controlled by the material fed from one of said hoppers for mechanism of a cigarette machine, a second feeding means for tobacco for supplying an augmented supply of tobacco to said first amount of tobacco and means operated by the amount of tobacco when less than a predetermined amount of tobacco is fed for setting in operation said second feeding means.

22. A feeding apparatus comprising a conveyor for feeding tobacco to a rod forming mechanism of a cigarette machine, means for feeding a substantially predetermined amount of tobacco which may vary to less than a predetermined amount of tobacco to said conveyor, a second feeding means for feeding tobacco to said conveyor and means setting in operation said second feeding means whenever the supply of tobacco fed to said conveyor by said first feeding means is less than a predetermined amount.

23. A tobacco feeding apparatus for feeding a substantially predetermined constant supply of tobacco for forming a cigarette rod comprising a conveyor leading to the rod forming mechanism of a cigarette machine, means for feeding tobacco'to said conveyor, a second means for feeding a supplementary supply of tobacco to said conveyor whereby said substantially predetermined supply is fed and means controlled by the tobacco fed by said first named means controlling said supplementary feeding means.

CARL WILHELM Mt'lLLER. 

